In an interview with 168.am, human rights activist Avetik Ishkhanyan touched upon Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s statement on closing entrances to courts and some thoughts that he expressed in his speech that followed the statement. According to the human rights activist, Pashinyan’s demand is about punishing disobedient judges, not judicial and legal reforms.
Otherwise the people will perceive even the most substantiated decision as an insult, because verdicts are delivered for the Republic of Armenia, meaning on behalf of the people of the Republic of Armenia.
Freedom House’s Director for Special Research Nate Schenkkan has touched upon the call of Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan to block entrances to and exits from all courts of the Republic of Armenia starting from this morning.
Citizens are blocking courthouses in Yerevan since early Monday morning as Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called on supporters to do so in the evening of May 19.
The crowd that gathered at one of the courts after the call of the Prime Minister has already broken windows and pushed and shoved judges going to work. Police officers are inactive. You won’t get away with this, Nikol Pashinyan.
“First of all, this is very dangerous” — this is the first response of international law expert, attorney Ara Ghazaryan to the statement that Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan made via his Facebook page, stating that the entrances to and exits from all courts of the Republic of Armenia must be blocked starting from 08:30 tomorrow morning and that he will give a speech live at 12:00.
“Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan has instructed citizens of the Republic of Armenia to block the entrances to and exits from all Armenian courts. This is disrupting the activities of courts as a constitutional institution protecting human rights and settling disputes on the basis of law.
A while ago, state and political figure Davit Shahnazaryan addressed President of the Republic of Armenia Armen Sarkissian with the following call:
Shortly after a Yerevan court ordered Robert Kocharyan to be freed from pre-trial detention, the ex-president was released from the National Security Service jail in downtown of the city.
A Yerevan court today approved the personal guarantees from Artsakh’s President Bako Sahakyan and ex-President Arkady Ghukasyan to free former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan from pre-trial detention.
